Gregori gets first-round bye in Sac-Joaquin Section baseball playoffs
Despite carrying a 26-0 record and the state’s No. 8 ranking into this week’s action, there was much debate as to where Gregori High would be seeded for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I baseball playoffs.
After Wednesday’s 10-0 loss to Bear Creek in which the Modesto Metro Conference champs – ranked third in the section with a team batting average of .407 – were held to just one hit, it was an even bet that the Jaguars might not even procure a first-round bye.
“One of the greatest tests for any athlete is how they respond after getting knocked down, after getting hit on the jaw,” said Gregori coach Jim Davis. “I believe we can make a run at this thing. But what I believe is irrelevant. It’s what the kids believe.”
When the baseball and softball seedings were released Thursday, the section’s favored Gregori’s season-long body of work over its head-to-head blunder against Bear Creek and gave the Jags the No. 2 seed, behind No. 1 Tracy (21-4) and ahead of No. 3 St. Mary’s (17-9).
On Thursday at 7 p.m., Gregori will host the winner of No. 10 Stagg vs. No. 7 Lodi at Klein Family Field at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.
“It think if Gregori had finished undefeated, there’d have been a lengthy discussion in there, between Gregori and Tracy, for the No. 1 seed,” said SJS assistant commissioner Will DeBoard. “(The loss) definitely cost them that.
“But the discussion really transitioned to how to treat this result. This was our lengthiest and most heated discussion of the day, by far.”
Tracy, by virtue of playing in the tougher Tri-City Athletic League, was the favorite for the No. 1 seed despite the Jaguars’ gaudy record.
St. Mary’s, which won seven consecutive South titles from 2009 to 2015 before being unseated by Tracy last season, also had a strong case for the No. 2 seed with eight of its nine losses coming to state heavyweights Tracy (twice), Arroyo, Heritage, Bellarmine, Elk Grove, De La Salle and Jesuit. The Rams also have signature wins against Tracy, Serra, Acalanes and St. Francis.
Had St. Mary’s been given the second seed, that would’ve left Gregori and Bear Creek to vie for the final first-round bye. Maybe in a head-to-head comparison Wednesday’s score would’ve had a larger impact.
“Ultimately, they chose to disregard the head-to-head result and went with overall season resume,” said DeBoard. “And they felt it was stronger than Bear Creek or St. Mary’s.”
No. 8 Beyer (18-9), the MMC runner-up, earned a first-round home game against No. 9 El Capitan (13-12) on Monday at 4 p.m., with the winner moving on to face Tracy.
No. 4 Bear Creek (19-7) will have to burn some pitching Monday – only the top three seeds get first-round byes – when it hosts Cinderella Downey at 4 p.m. in Stockton.
The Knights, 1-10 through 11 games this season, came far off the pace to grab the MMC’s No. 3 playoff seed.
“I’m feeling good about our team, but I’d have felt better if we had a first-round bye,” said Bear Creek coach Pete Pijl, who has guided the Bruins to back-to-back playoff appearances in two seasons at the helm, following 13 seasons at St. Mary’s that resulted in six trips to the finals and three section crowns. “It’s life, and things aren’t always fair, but we have a chance to show what we’re all about and we’re happy about that.”
Central California Conference co-champion Pitman, seeded fifth, entertains No. 12 Franklin on Monday at 4, while co-champ Turlock, the No. 6 seed, hosts No. 11 Tokay at 4, with the winner earning a date against St. Mary’s.
Had Gregori finished the season undefeated and managed to snag the No. 1 seed, the Jaguars would’ve been the fifth Stanislaus District team to sit atop a bracket.
Los Banos earned the top seed in the Division IV and Escalon was No. 1 in D-V, while Escalon (D-V) and Ripon Christian (D-VII) were top seeds in softball.
BASEBALL
(all games start at 4 p.m. unless noted)
Monday, May 15
Division I South – No. 9 El Capitan at No. 8 Beyer; No. 13 Downey at No. 4 Bear Creek; No. 12 Franklin at No. 5 Pitman; No. 11 Tokay at No. 6 Turlock.
Division III – No. 9 Pioneer at No. 8 Sierra.
Division IV – No. 10 Center at No. 7 Livingston.
Division V – No. 9 West Campus at No. 8 Bret Harte; No. 10 Calaveras at No. 7 Ripon. Division VI – No. 9 Forest Lake Christian at No. 8 Ripon Christian; No. 10 San Juan at No. 7 Gustine.
Division VII – No. 9 Hughes Academy at No. 8 Big Valley Christian.
Wednesday, May 17
Division I South – No. 10 Stagg vs. No. 7 Lodi winner vs. No. 2 Gregori, at Klein Family Field, Stockton.
Division IV – No. 6 El Dorado at No. 3 Ceres at Tony Zupo Field, Lodi.
Division V – No. 6 Marysville vs. No. 3 Linden at Billy Hebert Field, Stockton.
Division VI – No. 5 Orestimba vs. No. 4 Woodland at Stagg H.S., Stockton.
Division VII – No. 5 Western Sierra vs. No. 4 Turlock Christian, 7 p.m., McAuliffe Ballpark, Sacramento.
Thursday, May 18
Division III – No. 10 Rio Americano/No. 7 Woodland vs. No. 2 Oakdale, 4 p.m., McAuliffe Ballpark, Sacramento; No. 5 River Valley vs. No. 4 Manteca, 7 p.m., McAuliffe Ballpark, Sacramento. Division IV – No. 9 Colfax/No. 8 Union Mine winner vs. No. 1 Los Banos, 7 p.m., at Tony Zupo Field, Lodi.
Division V – No. 9 West Campus/No. 8 Bret Harte winner vs. No. 1 Escalon, 7 p.m., Billy Hebert Field, Stockton.
Division VI – No. 6 Delta vs. No. 3 Mariposa, at Stagg H.S., Stockton.
SOFTBALL
Tuesday, May 16
Division II – No. 11 Bear Creek at No. 6 Atwater.
Division III – No. 16 Patterson at No. 1 Benicia; No. 9 Manteca at No. 8 Christian Brothers; No. 12 Oakdale at No. 5 Pioneer; No. 13 Merced at No. 4 Vanden; No. 14 Beyer at No. 3 Ceres; No. 15 Bethel at No. 2 East Union.
Division IV – No. 9 Los Banos at No. 8 Hughson; No. 11 Dixon at No. 6 Sierra.
Wednesday, May 17
(all games start at 4 p.m. unless noted)
Division I – No. 9 Turlock at No. 8 Gregori; No. 13 Enochs at No. 4 River City.
Division V – No. 8 Orestimba at No. 1 Escalon; No. 5 Bear River at No. 4 Amador; No. 6 Hilmar at No. 3 Mariposa; No. 7 Waterford at No. 2 Ripon.
Division VI – No. 6 Holt Academy at No. 3 Argonaut.
Division VII – No. 8 Hughes Academy at No. 1 Ripon Christian; No. 6 Bradshaw Christian at No. 3 Stone Ridge Christian; No. 7 Big Valley Christian at No. 2 Foresthill.
Thursday, May 18
Division IV – No. 10 Lindhurst/No. 7 Rosemont winner at No. 2 Calaveras.
This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 10:26 PM with the headline "Gregori gets first-round bye in Sac-Joaquin Section baseball playoffs."